


This Land of Such Dear Souls

by Belle



Category: Robin Hood (BBC 2006)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-09-17
Updated: 2007-09-17
Packaged: 2018-01-25 01:50:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1625165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Belle/pseuds/Belle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Twelfth century girl-talk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Land of Such Dear Souls

**Author's Note:**

> Written for LithiumDoll

 

 

The day after foiling the Sheriff's plans yet again and after Much had stopped Marian's wedding, Djaq walked up to Knighton Hall, in full view of the villagers and knocked on the front door.

Marian's father opened it. Before he could speak, Djaq said loudly, "Sir Edward, I have come to examine your daughter. I understand she's not feeling well."

He looked confused, but gamely played along, even answering in a similarly loud voice. "Of course. Please come in."

Once the door was shut, he turned to her and said, "You should not have come. We are still being watched by the Sheriff."

"There is a plan," Djaq reassured him.

Sir Edward sighed in relief. "If Robin has a plan, I will trust to his judgment."

Rather than correct him, Djaq held up her bag. "I am also here to take another look at her wound."

He flinched at the word wound but nodded. "Yes, yes. She is upstairs in her room. I have asked her to stay indoors today, just in case."

Djaq nodded.

He continued, "If I might suggest, be quick about it. Sir Guy's guards will have recognised you."

"Yes," Djaq said simply and turned to the stairs. Sir Edward appeared more nervous than usual, she noted as she climbed them. Perhaps he had spent the last few days imagining what might've happened if Marian's wound had been worse, if help had not arrived. And that way of thinking might've provided another unspoken reason why he had kept Marian indoors today. It was fortuitous that he had; it would suit Djaq's purpose quite conveniently. She knocked on the door to Marian's bedroom, entering after the greeting.

Marian was reclining on her bed, doing needlework. "Djaq!" she said, seemingly happy to see the other woman. "I've been so bored stuck inside the house today. Has Robin sent you?"

"No. I have come to take a look at your wound. What were you thinking, running around and riding on a horse days after being stabbed? It is a wonder you are still alive."

Marian looked askance.

Djaq laughed lightly, placing her sack on the bed. "Now that I have scolded you like a proper Arab woman, let me have a look at your stomach."

Marian obligingly put down her embroidery and lay back, lifting up her shirt. Guy's stab wound was still red around the edges, but it appeared to be getting better. The stitching looked clean, but an eye would need to be kept on it.

Djaq pressed on Marian's stomach. "Does this hurt?"

"Yes."

"Good. That means it is healing. You can sit up now."

Marian pulled her shirt back down, moving back into a reclining position against the headboard of her bed. She looked at Djaq for a moment, then asked, "You didn't come here just to look at my wound, did you?"

"No," Djaq said, "but it was important for me to check it again. I want you to rest a lot in the next few days and not to go riding any horses until I say so."

"All right, I will. If you tell me why you came. Does Robin know that you're here?"

"No." Marian raised an eyebrow as Djaq continued. "If he did, he would've come with me and this is something that must be done without his presence or knowledge." In fact, Djaq had managed to persuade the boys to sneak into Nottingham and steal the supplies belonging to the dead physician, Pitts, under the cover that she needed salve for Little John's arrow wound in his arm. In any case, it would not hurt to be prepared and have extra provisions.

Djaq sat down on the bed and outlined her plan. Marian listened without interrupting, remaining silent after Djaq finished.

"I think it will work," she finally said. "It is worth a try, at any rate. Even though Robin won't like it."

"Robin is a man and as such, he believes he should always be in control. It is you and your father's safety that is at risk here. You must take steps to protect yourself."

Marian twisted a lock of hair around her finger. "I know. But I do feel slightly bad about doing this. Deceiving him."

"Because he didn't deceive you first, trying to get you to marry him when you believed the king was coming?"

"That was not his finest moment, I know. But there is goodness in him."

"Then you had better find it and bring it out," Djaq said sharply.

They were silent for a moment until Marian exhaled and said, "My father told Robin when he returned that he would have to play the long game. But it seems it is I who must play instead."

"We do what we must," Djaq declared. "But you do not have to do this."

"No," Marian said, determination in her face. "It is a good idea and it could mean our survival. I will find a way of balancing."

Djaq nodded. "Very well. We will start immediately."

Marian echoed her agreement with a nod of her own. "I will find a way of explaining it to Robin."

"He loves you," Djaq said, remembering Robin's collapse and loss of control in the cave, followed by losing his grief through fighting in the battle against the Sheriff's men. "He will understand, eventually."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Well, I have it on good authority that you have no shortage of admirers."

"Yes, Much told me about what Will and Allan both said." After the boys had gotten Djaq out of the Sheriff's custody, Much had refused to look her in the eye. After very little pressure from Djaq, Much had revealed that both Will and Allan had declared their feelings during the rescue debate.

"And?" Marian asked.

"I found it very flattering that they both had done so."

"Then you do not like either of them?"

"No!" Djaq remained silent for a second, surprised by her own outburst. This conversation was quickly moving past what she had initially envisioned to more intimate topics, but she found she did not mind. A kinship formed between the two of them in those desperate moments in the cave and now there was a new level of trust that had not existed before. "I would not like to be the cause of any conflict within the group."

"Ah," Marian said.

"In truth," Djaq confessed, "I like them both."

"It would be most unorthodox," Marian mused.

Djaq looked at her for a moment, uncomprehending. Then she realised what Marian meant. "Oh!"

Marian smiled. "If it's any help, I believe that very few people would notice. And fewer would say anything, after everything you all have done."

"Perhaps."

"I envy you all," Marian said softly. "I wish I could fight in the open, the way that you do."

"What you do is important, too. You provide the villagers with help. You stand up when others will not."

"Why did you choose to stay here and join Robin's band?"

"I felt called here, to help. And at peace, as well."

"I am glad you chose to stay here."

"Thank you."

"Thank _you_ , Djaq. Without your help, I would not be alive."

Just then, they heard raised voices below. Djaq looked at Marian. "He is here. Are you ready?"

Marian closed her eyes for a few seconds, as though gathering her courage. Then she opened them and nodded. "Yes."

The door swung open suddenly and Sir Guy of Gisbourne burst in, demanding, "Where is Hood?"

Djaq moved off the bed and stood up, facing him even as Marian's father hurried into the room.

"As I told you, Sir Guy," Edward said, huffing slightly, "Robin is not here."

"Then what is she doing here?"

Sir Guy's anger and sheer presence seemed to fill the room, but Djaq, undeterred, took a step towards him. "I am here because I was asked to come and look at the Lady Marian's head. She suffered a serious blow to the head when she fell in the forest a few days ago."

"She appeared fine yesterday, when she punched me at the altar."

"While she may have appeared fine yesterday, she was not in her right mind."

Whatever Guy had expected to hear, that clearly was not it. "What?"

"As I understand it, the day after her fall, Marian was complaining of a headache. One of the local healers gave her some baby woodrose."

"So?"

"It acts as a mild hallucinogenic. Lady Marian took some on Saturday, before the wedding.

Guy looked at Marian. "Is this true?"

This was one of the tricky parts, Djaq knew, because she had no idea how credible a liar Marian was. But Marian looked directly in his eyes and said, "I had a headache. I did not wish to be in discomfort during the ceremony."

"When the bells began to ring," Djaq continued, "the loud noise triggered an extreme hallucination. Lady Marian was not aware of what she was saying or doing."

"She did not know what she was doing?" Despite his earlier anger, Gisbourne seemed more than eager to be convinced.

The question had been addressed to Djaq, but it was Marian who answered. "No. I owe you an apology, Sir Guy. But I believe you owe me one as well."

He had the grace to look ashamed. "I do."

"Perhaps we could begin afresh. If you want to, that is."

He paused and Djaq watched emotions play over his face. "Yes," he said finally. "I would like that."

Sir Edward had been watching everything play out with a confused expression on his face. Luckily for them, Guy had been keeping most of his attention on Marian.

"How is your head now?" he asked,

"Better. I have been told I must remain indoors."

"If it pleases you, I shall come tomorrow and we can talk more."

"I would like that very much, Sir Guy." Marian leaned back against the headboard, conveying her tiredness to those assembled in the room.

Her father picked up on it easily, leading Gisbourne from the room while enquiring about when they should expect him the following day.

Guy paused at the threshold, turning back towards the bed. "Goodbye for now, Marian. I shall pray for your swift recovery."

The door closed and both girls listened in silence until they heard the sound of hoofbeats leaving the house. Then Marian heaved a sigh of relief and Djaq picked up her bag.

"I must be getting back. We will talk more later."

Perhaps Marian's tiredness had not been faked, for she did not make more than a token protest. That worried Djaq a bit and once downstairs, she told Sir Edward to monitor how much Marian slept.

"I will," he vowed. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter. She is all I have left."

Djaq made her leave and walked out the front door, knowing that the Sheriff's spies would be paying attention. She headed for the forest.

Djaq had known that their companionable talk would not continue after Gisbourne's interruption and the plan that Djaq had set into motion. Marian would need time to become accustomed to the idea of deliberate deceit. But given time, perhaps she and Djaq would be able to have another talk. Djaq would like that. As much as she enjoyed the company of the boys, there were times when she wished for different company and talk.

Gisbourne - what a dangerous man. They would have to tread carefully in this plan. But it was the only way that she saw to keep Marian and her father at Knighton Hall safely.

Djaq did not blame Robin for initially not coming to her rescue after he learned the truth about Gisbourne's visit to Acre. Knowing the truth about Gisbourne, Djaq suspected that she'd be tempted to do the same as Robin had. Djaq had known the desire for vengeance and although she no longer craved it, she understood all too well the relief it could bring. If there had been peace at Acre, then her father and brother might not have died the following year. Perhaps. _It is not given to us to know what could have been_ , Djaq thought. All she could do was attempt to keep the boys and everyone they cared about safe.

Crisscrossing her way through the forest to avoid being tracked, Djaq headed home. It was very different from where she grew up. Here, the green was ever-present. It had taken some getting used to, but she had quickly learned all the paths through the woods, how to get back to their camp. Now she followed one through the woods back to this family that she had made for herself. She'd do what she had to, in order to keep them all safe and together.

 

 

 


End file.
